Wild Things movie review- Good for her!

This movie must hold a record for the most plot twists in a movie ever . 

Director: John McNaughton

Writer: Stephen Peters

Cinematographer: Jeffrey L. Kimball

Cast: Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards

Year: 1998

When teen primadonna Kelly (the beautiful Denise Richards) fails to garner the attention of her handsome guidance counsellor, Sam (the amazing Matt Dillon), she accuses him of rape, leading to a fiery scandal that results in his arrest. Sam pleads to Ken (the hilarious Bill Murray), a lousy personal-injury lawyer, but soon a second victim, Suzie (the wonderful Neve Campbell), comes forward. Detective Duquette (the incredible Kevin Bacon) begins to dig deeper into the case as it unravels, revealing it is far from what it seems.  

I have got to say this is probably the craziest 90s high school film I've seen in a while. I never really knew what direction this movie was going in; I mean, Wild Things must hold the world record for the highest number of plot twists within a movie! It's genuinely unhinged how many slippery and unpredictable plot twists there are, like one moment you're laughing, and the next you're on the edge of your seat; it's just like the meandering swamps we see in the opening credits (which I cannot stop playing, it's just got the best main theme and the visuals are just exquisite and really immerse you into the dual world of South Floridas resort town: Blue Bay). I cannot stress to you enough how I would definitely recommend walking into this film completely blind; not knowing a single thing about the film just makes it feel as if David Lynch tried to direct porn but was lobotomized and on a serious drug-fueled bender with the screenwriter. Everything from its Florida swamp neo-noir trash aesthetic to updating the old-school noir trope into this sort of messy, horny, wet commercial demand of the 90s makes this film just so easy for your eyes to devour. I think another thing that makes this film so 'amazing', is the idea that the screenwriter was probably writing 10 other scripts alongside Wild Things and in the end, just decided to merge them all into one. Don't have time to watch 7 different movies? What if I told you there was a way of watching them all at once? But seriously, someone, please bury me in a coffin lined with 90s erotic psycho-sexual thrillers and make the funeral Wild Things themed. It's just such an underrated 90s film that I feel like no one has seen it; this should be in the realms of the 90s cult classic status! I just really admire the shamelessness of complete exposition within this film; it's so horny and corny that, at some points, it's just flat-out hilarious and completely shocking. It's just a beginning-to-end filthy, sleazy, sultry and camp movie, and when a film has Third Eye Blind in its soundtrack, you know I'm just going to love it! 

The male gaze is an interesting thing when paired with celebrity voyeurism, despicable and duplicitous characters and the sweaty swamp of Southern Florida. Every shot is perfectly directed for horny and sleazy artifice, I love how the 90s just produced the most enjoyable, harmless trashy films full of libido. Does a film have to be a cinematic masterpiece? Isn't it enough to see Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards share a screen? When the film opens, we hear the voice of a woman singing almost like a siren luring you into John McNaughton's erotic and pretty much iconic little plane of existence. I know that Wild Things has its faults, with its central plot device being founded within a claim/ accusation of rape and its representation of higher and lower classes within this small community of Florida (*we live in a society*) as well as the divide between how each gender are visually shown. Obviously, being made in 1998, it's not going to be as politically correct as we would like it to be, with some lines of dialogue being quite problematic and the continuous, maybe even unnecessary, sexploitation. However, I find certain parts of this film actually quite impressively progressive (I won't be revealing too much), with its queer/homosexual undertones or overtones, some strong female characters, male nudity and, of course, the abundance of crazy plot twists. Matt Dillon's performance in Wild Things really reminded me of Ben Affleck's performance from Gone Girl, and Neve Campbell was just as impressive as she was in Scream. Amy Dunne would be so proud! Also, Matt Dillon is like SO HOT! Like what was in the water in the 90s cause we need to bring it back! I haven't been so sucked into a film like this in a while, constantly bobbing my head along to the amazing soundtrack and the visual style that every single actor within this film is just constantly wet. I feel like McNaughton watched Basic Instincts and thought it wasn't sleazy enough. I was completely invested in the unravelling plot, with the first 30 minutes being probably the best part of the film as it finds its way a little trickier throughout the rest of the film. Saying that Wild Things is if Hitchcock had lived in Florida is a little bit of a stretch but I do see the influence, and I'm a little bit of a whore for psychosexual Hitchcockian thrillers. This movie has more plot twists than my life. I'm suing Wild Things for giving me whiplash!

Imagine a thriller that's actually a wet t-shirt contest. There's obviously a significant difference between good cinematic trash and bad cinematic trash. The bad trash is in abundance, but Wild Things is one of those 90s treasures you unearth, and the experience feels both rewarding and needing a shower after watching. This isn't a guilty pleasure; this is a filthy pleasure. Each and every single person who worked on this film deserves an oscar. Wild Things is so girlboss!! This movie really is a Wild Thing[s], and I know straight after I write this review, I'm going to want to watch this movie again! 

Rating: 4/5

Favourite quotes:

"Why don't we begin with a question? What is a sex crime?"

"Not gettin' any!"

"Jesus! Where did she get the shoes? 'Whores for less'?"

"What if someone was trying to strangle me, or...fuck me up the ass or something? "

"People aren't always what they appear to be! Don't forget that!"